Lindsay Lohan and her mum Dina have hit bosses at America's Fox News network with a defamation lawsuit over allegations they use cocaine together. The lawsuit, filed on Monday (02Feb15) in Manhattan Supreme Court, references an episode of Sean Hannity's show a year ago (04Feb14), when the TV host and commentator Michelle Fields, who are also named in the suit, were discussing the celebrities who had died of drug overdoses, including actor Philip Seymour Hoffman, who had just succumbed to a heroin overdose two days prior.
In the the legal documents, obtained by the New York Daily News, the Lohans allegedly came up in a discussion as "Early Train Wrecks and Tragedy About to Happen."
The Lohans' lawyer claims Fields "falsely, inappropriately and shockingly stated, unequivocally and as a 'matter of fact' that 'Lindsay Lohan's mother is doing cocaine with her'."
The legal complaint continues, "Fields made the false, defamatory, heartless, derogatory comment in the context of the show's topic... (It) was a direct smear on the character/reputation of (the Lohans)... (and it) was a totally irresponsible and malicious innuendo... (that) Lindsay Lohan might become the next celebrity to join the obituary list."
After the episode aired, Fox bosses posted the clip on their website, and the Lohans' lawyers David Hernandez and Mark Heller claim that when they talked to a lawyer from the news network, they promised to take the footage down, but it never happened.
The Lohans are demanding the clip be taken off the Hannity website permanently and they are asking for an unspecified amount of punitive damages.

Philip Seymour Hoffman has been remembered a year after his death with the launch of a theatre award in his name. The Oscar-winning actor was found dead at his home in New York City on 2 February (14) after a drug overdose, and his writer friend David Bar Katz subsequently set up the American Playwriting Foundation as a tribute.
The organisation has now launched a prize for aspiring playwrights in Hoffman's memory 12 months on from his death.
The winner of the award will receive a $45,000 (£28,125) cash prize, as well as the chance to have their play published.
Katz will be among the judges, along with playwright Lynn Nottage, actor John Ortiz and John Patrick Shanley, the screenwriter behind Hoffman's acclaimed 208 film Doubt.
The deadline for submissions is 10 July (15) and the winner will be announced on 2 October (15).

Philip Seymour Hoffman was remembered by his writer friend Stephen Adly Guirgis on stage at the Steinberg Playwright Awards this week (beg17Nov14). Guirgis was honoured with the 2014 Steinberg Distinguished Playwright Award during the ceremony at the Lincoln Center in Manhattan on Monday night (17Nov14), and he took time to remember his friend and collaborator.
The writer, who worked on a number of projects with the actor, used his speech to tell the audience about a card Hoffman gave him prior to the opening of one of his plays, saying, "I see this card, and it just says, 'Steve. I love you, I hope to grow old with you, I want to be there when you die. Phil.' So I read this thing and I was blown away..."
He went on to joke, "Then I was like, 'I hope to be there when you die?' This (guy) assumes that he's gonna... outlive me!"

Actor Bradley Whitford has been cast as Rhys Ifans' replacement in upcoming comedy series Happyish. The West Wing star will play the boss and mentor of Steve Coogan's character in the dark comedy, about the pursuit of happiness.
Coogan sign on to the show last month (Oct14) to step in for original star Philip Seymour Hoffman, who died of a drug overdose in February (14).
Actress Kathryn Hahn, who shot a pilot episode alongside Hoffman in 2013, will return to the show to play Coogan's onscreen wife.
The new pilot is slated to begin filming in New York next month (Dec14).

A female student arrested as part of a drugs raid connected to Philip Seymour Hoffman's death has walked free from court after striking a plea deal.
Juliana Luchkiw, 23, was one of four suspects busted during a raid on a New York City apartment in February (14) as cops investigated the source of heroin packets found at the Capote star's home.
Luchkiw appeared at Manhattan Supreme Court on Wednesday (29Oct14) and during the hearing, a charge of criminal possession of a controlled substance was reduced to disorderly conduct and she was sentenced to time served.
Hoffman's suspected dealer, jazz musician Robert Vineberg, was also among those detained in the raid. He pleaded guilty to a drug charge over the summer (14).
The Hollywood actor was found dead at his Manhattan home in February (14) after suffering a drug overdose.

Actor Steve Coogan has replaced the late Philip Seymour Hoffman in comedy series Happyish. The Capote star was slated to make his TV series debut in the show after it was picked up by bosses at America's Showtime network in January (14).
However, following Seymour's death from a drug overdose in February (14), bosses at the network were unsure if they wanted to move forward with the project. It has now emerged Coogan will step in for Hoffman.
The late actor filmed a pilot for the series, but Coogan will re-shoot the episode in New York in December (14).
An announcement from a representative at Showtime reads: "Noted for his range of comedic and dramatic roles, Oscar and Golden Globe nominee Steve Coogan is set to star in the Showtime comedy pilot Happyish... a comedic, soul-searching examination of our pursuit of happiness, a pursuit that might just be the very thing causing our unhappiness in the first place."

The sentencing of a jazz musician who pleaded guilty to a drug charge in connection to Philip Seymour Hoffman's death has been postponed after he was hospitalised for a serious illness. Robert Vineberg, also known by his stage name Robert Aaron, was one of four suspects taken into custody following a police raid in New York as part of an investigation into the Capote star's drug overdose death earlier this year (Feb14).
Cops allegedly found 300 bags of heroin in Vineberg's home, and in August (14) he took a plea deal offer of five years probation, 25 days of community service and agreed to take a drug treatment program.
He also agreed to forfeit the $1,284 (£755) which was seized during the raid on his apartment. If he violates the agreement he faces up to eight years in prison.
Vineberg was scheduled to return to a New York City court on Tuesday (14Oct14), but his sentencing has been adjourned to 14 November (14) in order to let him recuperate from a serious infection.
According to the New York Daily News, Vineberg, 58, is currently in a critical condition in the intensive care unit at Bellevue Hospital.

Lionsgate
Hunger Games fans get ready to celebrate (and cry)... The Hunger Games: Mockingjay - Part 1 official trailer has finally been released and it’s everything we could want, and then some. After waiting for what feels like a lifetime, fans are losing their minds over the trailer.
Watch the trailer before, so you can see if you have the same reaction as others:
People were tweeting about it, before the trailer even dropped:
we're gonna die in a few hours bc mockingjay trailer pic.twitter.com/8ojLRHknYt
— TODAY // 3 HOURS (@lawrxncejen) September 15, 2014
who's going to be at school tomorrow asking for a bathroom pass just so you can get out of class to watch the Mockingjay Part 1 trailer?!?
— Willow Shields (@WillowShields) September 15, 2014
Hey Prim, if we were still in school, that would totally be us.
WORDS CAN'T EVEN DESCRIBE HOW EXCITED I AM FOR THE MOCKINGJAY TRAILER WE HAVE WAITED SO LONG FOR IT AND WE'RE FINALLY GETTING IT TOMORROW
— PerksOfBeingAFanboy. (@LiamKelsall) September 14, 2014
we're not just getting the Mockingjay trailer tomorrow we're also getting cast interviews and exclusive photos HOW AM I GOING TO SURVIVE
— PerksOfBeingAFanboy. (@LiamKelsall) September 14, 2014
Before even seeing it, people predicted how important it was going to be:
when you're giving birth but the mockingjay trailer is being released pic.twitter.com/QKckuWSET6
— Harry Potter (@HtothePotter) September 15, 2014
Then the trailer actually released:
LET'S TALK ABOUT THE MOCKINGJAY TRAILER LET'S TALK ABOUT HOW INCREDIBLE JENNIFER'S PERFORMANCE IS, LET'S TALK ABOUT PHILIP SEYMOUR HOFFMAN
— 1989 (@TSwizzleLoves13) September 15, 2014
Peeta was everyone’s first priority:
"Or you will find another Mockingjay!" #MockingjayPart1Trailer #TheMockingjayLives pic.twitter.com/xXVoEMckhJ
— lαrcнα dιvergeηтe ོ (@CorredoraOsada) September 15, 2014
"You will rescue Peeta at the earliest opportunity or you will find another Mockingjay!"
— Domi (@RealLoveDE) September 15, 2014
All of Us: YEAH YOU BETTER SAVE PEETA!
People were so excited, they couldn’t spell:
MOCKINGJAY TRAILER IM SO DCITED
— juliane (@pieterseidek) September 15, 2014
It made people very emotional:
The Mockingjay trailer got me like pic.twitter.com/cT421fnawm
— anita • mr grey (@damonwithelena) September 15, 2014
the mockingjay trailer gives me chills, i'm so emotional right now!
— Mr. Grey (@Deedou13) September 15, 2014
oh my god the mockingjay trailer!!!! I am so excited!!!!!!!
— bucky (@clintbartontbh) September 15, 2014
the mockingjay part 1 trailer oh god everything has led to this and i'm so fjsnfjskdgmd
— z (@zaiirraa) September 15, 2014
I got goose bumps while watching Mockingjay Part 1 trailer.. Shoot those Mockijets, Katniss! :))))))))
— Dan Nikkoli Soria (@tanDANgsoria) September 15, 2014
omfg the mockingjay trailer was so... http://t.co/SVRbyyPZTa
— artsy (@thenerdhub) September 15, 2014
Everyone already knows this movie is going to be good:
Mockingjay looks out of this world. Whoa.
— Queen of Books (@AlanaBWaters) September 15, 2014
OMG MOCKINGJAY LOOKS SOO GOOD!!
— ALL BECAUSE OF EMMA (@EmmaWatsonU2) September 15, 2014
They’re even going as far to suggest it’ll be better than the book:
Mockingjay is already better than the book based on the trailer. I think I know what point in book the movies are going to be split.
— Ryan Kilkenny (@ryanstweeting11) September 15, 2014
Let’s hope.
People demanded the movie:
I can't get over that Mockingjay trailer. Everything looks perfect - from the beautiful visuals to the amazing acting. I need the movie NOW!
— THGAustralia.com (@THGAustralia) September 15, 2014
OOOHHH YESSSSSSSS MOCKINGJAY TRAILER IS SO GOOD OMG YES I WANT THE FILM NOWWWWWW
— Rawson Ny Ndublet (@HeartbeatCharly) September 15, 2014
To quote President Snow, “It’s the things we love the most that destroy us.”
But this actually will detroy us. #TheMockingjayLives
Follow @hollywood_com | Follow @analuisasrz
//

A jazz musician arrested in connection to Philip Seymour Hoffman's death pleaded guilty to a drug possession charge in a New York court on Thursday (28Aug14). Robert Vineberg, also known by his stage name Robert Aaron, was one of four people taken into custody following a police raid in New York as part of an investigation into the Capote star's drug overdose death earlier this year (Feb14).
Cops allegedly found 300 bags of heroin in Vineberg's home, and on Thursday he took a plea deal offer of five years probation, 25 days of community service and agreed to take a drug treatment programme, according to the New York Daily News.
He also agreed to forfeit the $1,284 (GBP755) which was seized during the raid on his apartment. If he violates the agreement he faces up to eight years in prison.
Vineberg will be formally sentenced on 14 October (14).

Veteran actor Billy Crystal saluted his late friend and fellow funnyman Robin Williams as a comedic "genius" in a touching tribute at the 2014 Primetime Emmy Awards in Los Angeles on Monday (25Aug14). The Oscar-winning Good Will Hunting star committed suicide at his California home on 11 August (14) and his close pal Crystal was given the task of memorialising Williams at the annual prizegiving, which salutes the best in TV.
Taking to the stage at the Nokia Theatre L.A. Live at the end of the traditional In Memorium segment, which was set to the tune of Sara Bareilles singing a moving rendition of Nat King Cole classic Smile, Crystal recalled how he used to struggle to keep up with his old friend's quick wit and mountains of energy as they performed together in the early days of their careers.
Crystal said, "He made us laugh, hard... He made us laugh, big time. I spent many hours with Robin onstage. I mean, the brilliance was astounding, the relentless energy was, kind of, thrilling. I used to think if I could just put a saddle on him and stay on for eight seconds I would be OK..."
He continued, "As genius as he was onstage, he was the greatest friend you could ever imagine: supportive, protective, loving. It's very hard to talk about him in the past because he was so present in all of our lives.
"For almost 40 years, he was the brightest star in the comedy galaxy. But while some of the brightest of our celestial bodies are actually extinct now, their energy long since cooled, but miraculously, because they float in the heavens so far away from us now, their beautiful light will continue to shine on us forever and the glow will be so bright, it will warm your heart, it will make your eyes glisten and you'll think to yourselves, 'Robin Williams, what a concept.'"
Ironically, the late funnyman honoured Jonathan Winters during the same Emmy Awards segment last year (13).
Others remembered in the In Memorium piece, prior to Crystal's heartwarming tribute to Williams, included Philip Seymour Hoffman, Lauren Bacall, Paul Walker, James Garner, Peter O'Toole, Maya Angelou, Bob Hoskins, Mickey Rooney and Harold Ramis.

Cast alongside Ben Stiller, Debra Messing and Jennifer Aniston in "Along Came Polly" a film by writer-director John Hamburg

Moved to NYC to attend college

Acted opposite John C Reilly in stage revival of Sam Shepard's "True West"; the actors alternated the roles of two brothers during the course of the run; each received Tony nomination as Actor in a Play

Played a by-the-book medical student who clashes with the idealistic titular character in the sentimental biopic "Patch Adams"

Raised in the Rochester, NY area

Guest starred on an episode of the NYC-filmed series "Law & Order" (NBC)

Portrayed Freddy Lounds in the thriller feature "Red Dragon, " the prequel to "Silence Of The Lamb"

Hosted the documentary "The Last Party 2000," which focused on the Republican and Democratic National Conventions for the 2000 Presidential race

Cast opposite Tom Cruise and Ving Rhames in "Mission: Impossible III"

Portrayed a priest accused of abusing a young student in the film adaptation of John Patrick Shanley's play "Doubt"; earned Best Supporting Actor Golden Globe, SAG and Academy Award nominations

Starred opposite Ed Harris in the drama "Empire Falls"; earned an Emmy nomination for Best Supporting Actor in a Miniseries or Movie

Cast as Iago in a joint production of the Public Theater and LAByrinth Theater Company's "Othello" at the NYU Skirball Center

Featured in "A Late Quartet"

Co-starred with Laura Linney in "The Savages" as adult siblings who are forced to care for their estranged father; earned a Golden Globe nomination for Best Actor

Delivered an unsettling and unforgettable turn as loner who enjoys making obscene phone calls in "Happiness"

Directed Anna Paquin in her NYC stage debut in "The Glory of Living"

Portrayed writer Truman Capote in Bennett Miller's "Capote," a film written by Dan Futterman that focuses on Capote's close relationship with killer Perry Smith

Played a cult leader in Paul Thomas Anderson's "The Master"

Co-starred as a cocky peer of Chris O'Donnell's earnest college student in "Scent of a Woman"

Summary

Widely recognized as one of the strongest stage and film actors of his generation, Philip Seymour Hoffman delivered knockout supporting roles in films like "Boogie Nights" (1997), "Magnolia" (1999) and "Almost Famous" (2000), before breaking out with an Oscar-winning lead as the famed author in "Capote" (2005). The co-creative director of New York's LAByrinth theater company brought theater-trained sensibilities and a fearless approach to some of cinema's most uncomfortably realistic portrayals, battling dark human urges, addictions, and moral conflicts with powerful if unflattering vulnerability. That was not to overlook Hoffman's considerable comedic talents, expressed in finely nuanced characterizations of a loyal assistant in "The Big Lebowski" (1997), a blocked screenwriter in "State and Main" (2000), a desperate former child actor in "Along Came Polly" (2004), and a maturity-challenged college professor in "The Savages" (2007). He even made the occasional blockbuster action thriller, playing the villain to Tom Cruise's hero in "Mission: Impossible III" (2006). Still, Hoffman was most comfortable in more dramatically challenging films, delivering quality turns in "Before the Devil Knows You're Dead" (2007) and Charlie Kaufman's "Synecdoche, New York" (2008) before receiving well-deserved acclaim for his performance as the embattled Father Flynn in "Doubt" (2008). With standout supporting turns in "Moneyball" (2011) and "The Ides of March" (2011), Hoffman solidified his standing as one of the best and most versatile actors working in Hollywood. His death via heroin overdose at the age of 46 stunned the acting community as well as his legion of fans.

Met while working in the 1999 play "In Arabia We'd All Be Kings," which Hoffman directed

Education

Name

New York University

Circle in the Square Theatre School

Notes

"A lot of people describe me as chubby, which seems so easy, so first-choice. Or stocky. Fair-skinned. Tow-headed. There are so many other choices. How about dense? I mean, I'm a thick kind of guy. But I'm never described in attractive ways. I'm waiting for somebody to say I'm at least cute. But nobody has." – Hoffman quoted in The Los Angeles Times, April 5, 1998

"I'm a big fan of studying and working with really good teachers for a long time before you get into it. If you study for three, four, five years, I studied for six. If at the end of that period of time you still want to be an actor, you're that much ahead of the game than everybody else because you know something about yourself. And you're also going to be that much better." – Hoffman to Backstage West, March 13, 1998

"If I do a lot of different things, people aren't watching the actor, they're watching the character. There are a lot of great actors who, after a while, well, you're watching the actor, no matter what character it is. I want to try for as long as possible to have people watch my characters, not me." – Hoffman to The Los Angeles Times, Aug. 26, 1998

"Philip Seymour Hoffman has a remarkable face. One look at it and you know that, contrary to rumor, movies haven't lost their genius for discovering actors who are capable of being themselves while occupying the spirit of another person and mirroring the secrets and desires of everyone watching in the dark. Hoffman's is not a stereotypically Hollywood-handsome face; you need to live with it to discover its magic. It dates back to an era when male movie stars didn't all have to look like Brads or Matts. It's a face enough like our own faces to be recognizable, yet so vividly unique you can't take your eyes off it." – Interview's Patrick Giles, Feb. 1999

Hoffman on finding a way to play Rusty, his transgendered character in "Flawless": "I'm pretty much a guy guy. I had to decide what it was about this person that I could identify with, and I came to this little piece of truth about myself: I have known what it's like to want to be someone else. There was a time in my life, and even now, that I assumed someone else is better than me, sexier than me, more intelligent than me. That's what this guy is about." – to Premiere, October 1999

Paul Thomas Anderson, excitedly extolling the virtues of Philip Seymour Hoffman: "Phil does these things on screen that make you flip out; weird twitches, movements, accidents, stutters. And you guys are f***in' onto it! I know it. I know you're gonna say the right thing, which is, Hey! The jackass character-actor guy is now a lead actor!" – to Entertainment Weekly, Nov. 19, 1999

"Flawless" director Joel Schumacher, describing Hoffman's performance: "He worked hard on every detail about Rusty. He'd do a great take, and when we looked at the scene on video playback, he'd say, 'I don't like the way I'm holding my pinkie when I'm smoking that cigarette. Can I have another take?' He's calling that indulgent, but it's a passion for perfection, and we were all there to serve it. Which, when you're working for scale, as we all were, is the only way to work." – to the New York Times, Nov. 21, 1999

Hoffman on the subjectivity of "unconventional", in reference to the parts he has played: "Listen to the rhythms of the way you talk. Do you know how high your voice sounds? The quirks you have? The way that you look? Do you think if someone portrayed you accurately in a film, people would be like, 'Hey, that guy, he's playing a leading man role!' Nobody's like that. Humans aren't like that." – to Newsday, Nov. 23, 1999

"I can be temperamental, I know it. You're focusing your ass off. When you're doing that hour after hour, it's almost like you're mentally lugging a sofa up six flights of stairs." – Hoffman on the emotional trials involved in acting, quoted in Interview, December 1999

"I don't particularly think that Allen, or Scotty J or Grant in 'The Big Lebowski' are the most atrociously ugly characters in the world. I really don't think so. If you saw Allen walk down the street, you'd think, Okay, that's a business guy. If you saw Scotty, you'd say, This guy lives in the West Village. But they're exposed to you. You see them in extraordinarily private moments, and I think that Clark Gable, sitting in his room, wondering if he's ever going to have love in his life, with his boxers on, is going to be that attractive." – Hoffman to Talk, December 1999/January 2000

Hoffman, then starring onstage in a production of Sam Shepard's "True West" on his craft: "Acting's not easy, ever. When you start thinking it's easy, all of a sudden, you suck." – to Time Out New York, Feb. 17-24, 2000

Frequent co-star John C Reilly on Hoffman: "He's an actor's actor, really fearless. He's not afraid to explore all sides of the character, including the ugly, creepy things that go on inside of all our heads." – quoted in The Observer, Nov. 19, 2000

"No role is easy. To act well is difficult. The guy Phil in 'Magnolia' is pretty much me, though I don't think I have the same moral backbone, but to be truthful to the emotional life he lived in that movie was very difficult, and to make people interested in watching that was even more difficult." – Hoffman quoted in The Daily Telegraph, Nov. 24, 2000

Philip Seymour Hoffman on the similarities he has with characters like the oddly innocent Scotty in "Boogie Nights", namely a penchant for letting his mouth hang open in wonder: "That's how I am. When I was doing David Mamet's movie, he had to keep telling me to keep my mouth closed. I told him, 'That's what happend to me.' This friend of mine does this imitation of me where he opens his mouth and his tongue hangs out. When I'm intently listening to someone, I start turning into this, you know, Labrador retriever or something." – quoted in GQ, January 2001

Clark Gregg, co-star of Hoffman in "Magnolia" and "State and Main" on the actor: "Phil brings a tremendous amount of visceral sensitivity. If you saw those roles written on the page, you wouldn't see that character at all. Phil brings real humanity to roles like that because he lets you in on what they're needing so desperately." – to USA Today, Jan. 3, 2001

"I think most people have their moments of being unlikable, most people have their moments of being disturbing. I think it's an exploration of one aspect of humanity, looking at that part in all of us. I like that about it. Hopefully I don't do anything that distances people too far from the part. I always try to show that they're people, that their human. I've yet to play a psychopath." – Hoffman to Empire, August 2004